Zuleta Lifts Salem State Past Wheaton

SALEM, Mass. – George Zuleta (Lowell, Mass.) converted a penalty-kick in the 67^th minute to lift Salem State to a hard fought 1-0 victory over Wheaton on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Vikings raise their record to 2-0 while the Lyons suffer their first defeat on the year (1-1).

Wheaton controlled the tempo to open the second half, outshooting Salem State 19-7 in the period, as Robert Lloyd (Lexington, Mass.) and Gavin Mahoney (Carlsbad, Calif.) each just missed the net early in the half.

However, Salem State's Walaeddine Hounane (Salem, N.H.) caught Wheaton's keeper too far out, but Hounane 's shot went just wide of the open net, keeping the game scoreless. Building on that momentum, the Vikings' offense began to pressure Wheaton midway through the half, as Zuleta, who got behind the Lyon's defense, was tackled, setting up the senior for the game-winner.  

Salem State's Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.) made two outstanding saves late, robbing Daniel Medina (Yonkers, N.Y.) in the 79^th minute and stopping Alasdair Ferrier (Concord, N.H.) from point-blank range in the 86^th minute, to preserve the 1-0 lead.

The Lyons outshot the Vikings 5-1 in the opening half, including 27-12 for the game, as Wheaton's Luke Strange (Portland, Ore.) had the best scoring opportunity in the first period, narrowly giving the Lyons the lead, as his attempt hit the top of the crossbar in the 27^th minute.

Hauntsman finished with 15 saves in the win while his counterpart Cam Millington (Fairfield, Conn.) stopped five shots for Wheaton in the loss.